John Bowles talks about his career at REO Motor Car Company/Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc, in Lansing, MI, from 1938 to 1971. Bowles says that he came to Lansing from Indiana in 1931 searching for work and was happy to finally land a good paying job at REO in 1938. He describes the various jobs he held in the plant, struggling to fill military truck orders, the inspection process, the early novelty of women working in the plant, war production, and trying to diversify in the post-war era by manufacturing lawnmowers. He says that working at REO was truly a family affair and that, in fact, most employees had relatives working along side of them in the plant. The interviewers are Shirley Bradley and Lisa Fine.Recorded as part of the "REO Memories" oral history project.
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• Interview date: 1992-06-09
• Duration: 1:24:09
• Interviewee:
  • Bowles, John D.
• Interviewers:
  • Bradley, Shirley J.
  • Fine, Lisa M.

• Transcripts
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